Sephiroth's secret
by Zodiac Sefirosu
Summary: Our favorite general has a secret. What is it? Read and find out! Rated M just in case for gore and minor language.
1. The briefing

Genesis never went cuckoo, so he's here while Zack is a First-Class. None of these characters belong to me.

* * *

A person around twenty-five years of age with black hair and blue eyes mixed with mako energy, wearing a first-class SOLDIER uniform walked up to another first-class SOLDIER, but this one was sixteen years old and had his black hair in spikes like a giant porcupine while doing squats.

"Zack," Angeal began to the younger SOLDIER, slight worry evident in his voice, "I'm getting a little worried about Sephiroth."

"Huh?" Zack asked as he stopped doing squats and looked up at his mentor. "What's wrong with him?" After all, something must be pretty serious to have someone worried about Sephiroth of all people.

"He has been acting strange lately."

"Doesn't he always act strange though?" No one could deny that the General didn't act normal, whether it be from his stone-cold seriousness or his wanting to be secluded from other people.

Angeal crossed his arms across his chest while tilting his head to a side slightly and closing his eyes in thought. "I meant stranger than usual. He'll disappear at random times and he'll come back with blood on his clothes, plus he sometimes clutches his head as though he has a headache and he'll tell us it's nothing."

"The blood is probably just monster or Wutai soldier blood and he's probably getting headaches from how strict and grumpy he always is. He really needs to loosen up a bit."

The older man let out a booming laugh. "Genesis and I have always been telling him that."

At that moment, a man around the same age as Angeal with short cherry-colored hair and wearing a bright red trenchcoat walked up to them with a book in his hands. "Is Angeal talking about me behind my back again?"

"No Genesis," Angeal told him, "just telling Zack about how I'm worried about Sephiroth."

"We would take him out to a bar to relax, but once he figured out about it, he'd wrestle us to the ground, plus alcohol has an effect similar to sugar on him." The red-head shuddered at the thought of an extremely hyper Sephiroth.

"Is there any point to this conversation other than to bug us?" Angeal asked him with a sigh in his voice.

"Yes," he turned to Zack, "Lazard wants you in the briefing room, porcupine head."

"Okay, and don't call me that, Dumbapplehead." Zack said with an annoyed expression on his face, then headed off to the SOLDIER briefing room where a blonde-haired man in a blue suit and glasses was waiting for him.

"Hello again, Zack." Lazard began. "You'll be going on a mission with Sephiroth to wipe out an ocean tanker that is swarming with Wutai troopers."

"No other backup, I assume?" He asked, crossing his arms against his chest.

"Sephiroth normally doesn't need backup but this is a larger than average tanker, plus we've received reports that he's been acting strange lately."

"Yeah, he's been getting headaches and disappearing randomly and he'll come back covered in blood." The auburn-haired man informed him.

"This mission is mainly for you to keep an eye on him and to tell us if anything strange happens."

"Why do I have to look after him?" Zack whined like a child.

Lazard pinched the bridge of his nose between his index finger and thumb. How can he keep forgetting how childish Zack can get sometimes? "Because he would get suspicious if we sent Angeal or Genesis."

"Fine," He said, reluctantly relenting to essentially have a front-row seat to a genocide contained within a ship. "Is that all?"

"Yes, you may leave now."

Zack left the room even as a growing sense of dread that something bad will happen filled him as he prepared to leave. Who would want to go on a mission with a carnage-obsessed, never-humorous General?


	2. The odd encounter

Zack sighed. "The day of the mission." He thought to himself gloomily. Everyone feared working with Sephiroth, except for maybe Angeal and Genesis. He was more likely to kill you than the enemy, especially with his insane training regimes. "I wonder what happened to make him so cruel." Zack said to himself as he walked to the helicopter that was taking him and Sephiroth to the tanker of Wutai soldiers.

"More than you know, child." A wheezy female voice told him.

"Eh? Who's there?" He looked around and soon found the source of the voice, an elderly woman with long, gray, almost silver hair. Two bright purple orbs greeted him as she brushed her hair out of her face. "Who are you and what do you know about Sephiroth?"

"If you must have a name, call me Avana. As for my relationship to the General, I won't tell."

"Okay then, Avana." He offered his hand for her to shake and she looked at it as though unfamiliar to the gesture. "You're supposed to shake my hand with yours, you know, a handshake."

She raised a silverish eyebrow at him before turning away and walking off while muttering about foolish traditions.

"Okay then." He suddenly remembered why he had come this way. "Damn it, Sephiroth's going to be ticked!" He exclaimed before dashing off to the helicopter.

* * *

Zack saw the silver-haired man and he was sure he could see him. Out of breath from his dash to the chopper, he stood up straight and gave a salute. "SOLDIER Zack Fair reporting for duty, General!"

Sephiroth glared at him like a hungry predator. "Where on Gaia have you been SOLDIER?"

The older man's voice was as deep as booming thunder and just as commanding. It always sent a chill down the younger ones spine. He blushed, thinking that Sephiroth probably wouldn't believe his reason for being late.

"You won't tell me? Very well, your punishment is fifty laps around the ShinRa tower once we get back."

He groaned to himself and boarded the chopper after Sephiroth. He settled down in the seat and thought of the old lady from before. The black-haired SOLDIER crossed his arms against his chest and could feel weariness taking him over...


	3. The Mission

Yes, I am still alive...barely. School has been a real pain lately, let's leave it at that.

* * *

Zack was brought into consciousness by a strong grip pinching his shoulder. He opened his eyes reluctantly and looked into the angry, mako eyes of his superior.

"SOLDIERs do not sleep on the job." The silver-haired man said irritably.

"But we're not even there yet."

He rolled his cat-like eyes at the younger man and pointed out the window where a large tanker was nearly below them.

"Oh, well then, guess we are there." He said without looking at Sephiroth, for he knew he was smirking. "So, how do we get down there?"

"They'll lower us enough to climb down the ladder." He said as he rolled a rope ladder out of the helicopter as his long silver hair blew around from the wind generated by the rotors.

He watched the older man swiftly climb down the ladder, then hurriedly followed after him. When he landed, Sephiroth was nowhere to be seen. "Great," he groaned, "five minutes into the mission and I've already lost him."

Suddenly, Zack could hear screaming in the distance and cries for help. "Maybe not." He said as he hurried towards the noise. He skidded to a halt as he shook and looked at the sight before him. "By Ifrit, he splattered them all over the walls." He said as he looked at the blood and organs dripping and slidding their way down the walls and ceiling. "No materia can do this!" He exclaimed as he continued and beheld the sight of dismembered Wutainese troopers, their inards splattered like their predecessors.

Sephiroth's Point of View

* * *

He didn't know why they had made the scrawny SOLDIER come with him, but he wasn't about to let him get in his way. Rushing down the ladder, he immediately ran off where his sensative hearing and smell indicated enemies whilt unsheathing the mighty Masamune. These pathetic creatures will soon know why one of his nicknames is The Silver-Haired Sadist.

Using the strange powers he had since birth, he shot light blue, acid-like orbs at the weaker soldiers, tearing their limbs and sending their blood flying on the walls, ceiling, and most enjoyably, himself. He stopped momentarily to lick the crimson liquid from his lips while grinning devilishly and laughing at their futile attempts to flee and get help, then continued his massacre, wiping out the Wutai popukation on the ship within moments.

Still shivering in excitement from the slaughter, he turned around and headed back to the helicopter. He narrowed his eyes in annoyance as he could hear something. "One more must still be alive." The silver-haired man thought to himself as he held his sword high ready to strike it down as he turned the corner.

Back to Zack

* * *

He trembled before the General's almost-insane gaze before he recognized the person in front of him.

"Oh," he said, nearly in disappointment as he lowered his Masamune, "it's just you, Zack."

"Well, come on and let's get out of here before you do anything else weird." The spiky-haired person said as he relaxed and turned back towards where the helicopter waited. He noticed he could only hear his own footsteps and turned around to face his superior.

Zack saw that he had his eyes closed in bliss and a smile on his face, and was that purring he heard from him? "Yo, the mako making your body cat-like other than your eyes?" At this outburst, the General snapped his eyes open and rushed past him hurriedly to the helicopter without a word said.

"Okay, creepiness noted down." He muttered and followed after him. He sat down in his seat as the chopper began the flight back to Midgar...


	4. The weirdness truly begins

* * *

Sorry for the loooong wait again everyone. Between Quadratic Equations, Inverse Operations, (*Insert other algebraic expressions here*) writing stories nearly every week in Language, (Currently working on a fairy tale with Cloud and a kitsune Sephiroth) and getting my mind horribly violated, (Don't ask) I've practically lost my writing spirit 'till now. Enjoy!

* * *

Zack looked over at Sephiroth who was leaned against the wall of the helicopter with his arms crossed against his chest and his head leaned down so he would be looking at the floor if he had his eyes open.

"Least he isn't acting weird anymore." He thought to himself. "Though weird is usual for him. I wonder what that whole thing was about back there. One minute he's brutally massacring Wutai troopers and the next he's acting like a content feline. Maybe he's part cat. Would make sense from his eyes and grace in battle."

"Nice day, isn't it, Sir?"

The voice of the pilot snapped him out of his thoughts as he turned his head to the front of the plane. "I guess so. Why do you ask?"

"Just making small talk. The Great General doesn't seem to be one for conversation."

He turned his head back to Sephiroth, who was still in the same position as before. He let out a cheerful chuckle before facing the pilot again with a small grin on his face. "You don't know the half of it. Say, what's your name and rank?"

"Vindr and I'm a Second-Class."

"A Second?" He raised a raven-colored eyebrow as he tilted his head. "Usually, they leave these sorts of jobs to the Thirds or infantrymen."

"Well," Vindr scratched his head in embarrassment while making sure the helicopter kept on its course with the other hand as a blush crept across his face. "I mainly got this rank due to my technological skills. I'm basically useless in battle."

Zack walked over to his side and put a hand on his shoulder. "You just have better skills in technology rather than combat. Remember your honor and do not make yourself suffer for shortcomings."

He gasped with his mouth hanging open slightly that a First-Class would even talk to him. "T-thank you, Sir."

He smiled playfully. "The name's Zack." He said as the helicopter landed on a deserted helipad at the top of ShinRa Tower.

"Hm, I would have thought people would come to congratulate you two." The pilot said as he scanned around.

"This mission was very hush-hush." He walked over to Sephiroth who still hadn't budged an inch. He waved a hand in front of his face. "Hey, Seph, we landed." Still having not garnered a response, he poked his face which rewarded him with a snort and a slight shift of his body. "He's...asleep?"

"Myths flying around rumored that the General never sleeps. I guess they're wrong." Vindr said as he walked up to them.

"And who's the one who told me not to fall asleep on a mission?" He muttered under his breath before bringing out his cell phone and dialing a number. "Angeal, we have a problem."

The dark-haired man gave Genesis a weary look before mouthing "It's Zack." to him which earned him a snicker from the red-haired man. "What's the problem, Zack?"

"Well, Sephiroth...kinda fell asleep on the helicopter ride back to the tower."

He widened his eyes. "He what?!" He yelled in disbelief.

"You heard me." Zack chirped playfully. "He's out like a log and I'm not going to try waking him up and facing his wrath."

He sighed in annoyance. "Well, bring him back here."

"Through the main building? You think people will react positively to their hero being carried through the halls like a baby?"

He chuckled at the thought. "Of course not. Sephiroth, Genesis, and I found secret passages through the tower when we were younger, helps to get away from our fan clubs. Looks like you'll need to know about them now since you're a First."

He carefully slung Sephiroth over his shoulder while keeping a grip on his phone. "Wow, he's awfully light."

"Well, for one who only eats mako, what do you expect?" Angeal replied calmly.

Now it was Zack's turn to be surprised. "He only eats pure mako?!"

"If he eats anything else, we haven't seen him. I don't know how he can handle it. You'd think he'd have enough of that stuff from his monthly appointments with Hojo."

"Right." "Yet another thing to ponder about later." He thought to himself. "Anyway, where's the nearest secret passage that leads to Sephiroth's room?" He said as he hopped out of the helicopter with Vindr following him. The wind at the top of the tower ran through his spiky hair and made Sephiroth's fan out slightly as he took in the view while waiting for a response.

"Go through the door on your right if you're facing north. Remove the third section of floor you come across and press the bright green button under it. Follow the passage that is revealed and you'll be right across from Sephiroth's room."

He obeyed his mentor as Vindr waved goodbye to him and slid the panel of flooring back into place before heading into the dark hallway that used to be covered by a wall. He brushed cobwebs out of his path.

Suddenly Sephiroth reached his arms up to the ceiling with a serene expression on his face.

Zack gave him a weird look before moving the hand that held his phone back up to his face. "Okay, Angeal, Sephiroth is really starting to freak me out now."

"What's he doing?"

"He's reaching up to the ceiling looking like there's someone he really likes up there." He said before gently putting his arms down.

"He's probably just dreaming. Are you there yet?"

"Yeah." He said as he bumped into a wall. He felt around on it in the darkness and felt a handle. He turned it and the door that was a bookcase on the other side flew open. He looked down each side of the hallway before closing it behind him and approaching Sephiroth's room. He noticed the number pad and iris scanner on the side of the door. "Hey, Angeal, what's the combination to Sephiroth's room?"

"259676."

He put in the number and watched as the system accepted it. "Now to try for the eye scanner." He muttered before holding his breath as he moved Sephiroth's face up to the scanner and gently opened his eye. He let out a sigh of relief as the words, 'Access approved' flashed across the screen and the door slid open.

Zack walked in and gently deposited Sephiroth on the black sheets of his bed. He noticed as he sat down next to him that the silver-haired man immediately snuggled up to and held what looked to be an old, worn, light-blue worm plushie. "Hey Angeal, did you know Sephiroth had a stuffed toy still?"

"Light-blue worm-looking thing?" When his student responded affirmatively, he continued. "He's had that old thing for ages. He never told us what it is or how he got it though."

"Weird." He looked down at the peaceful-looking general. "He looks so innocent and defenseless in his sleep. Not the anti-social shell or the heartless warrior when he's awake." He cautiously put a hand on his silver hair and ruffled it slightly. "He's actually kind of cute, like a naive child." He removed his hand and stood up. "Guess I should get going." He whispered. "Bye, Angeal." He said into the phone before flipping it closed. He softly shut the door as he walked out, not noticing the stuffed toy gently caressing Sephiroth's cheek by itself while he slept.

* * *

For anyone wondering, Vindr means wind in Norse, chosen because Zack meets him in a helicopter. Sephiroth's room code is based on a mixture of things. Approximately how old he is,(25) number of letters in the word Nibelheim,(9) number of letters in Jenova,(6) number of letters in Genesis,(7) and number of letters in Angeal.(6)


	5. Girlfriend Maybe

I have learned that a mix of depression, mental scarrage, and uncovering old playstation games that I either loved as a kid or wanted to play, but had no idea what to do. First Final Fantasy 7, then Digimon World 3, and maaaybe Parasite Eve. *Pokes it with a ten-foot pole* Please tell me I'm not the only one who thinks of Genesis and Sephiroth when the new Axe commercial with the cavemen comes up. What? They look good in leather.

* * *

A few days had passed after the sleepy Sephiroth incident and Zack hadn't seen pale hide or silver hair of the mighty general, all trips to his room yielded fruitless results, until…

A light, lilting laugh accompanied by a rarely-heard, booming one caught Zack's attention as he was wandering through the halls of Shinra Tower. He lightly tiptoed to Sephiroth's room and peered through the crack in the almost-closed door.

An unfamiliar woman was sitting with her legs folded under her on Sephiroth's bed next to its owner, looking much more at ease than he usually was. Her silver locks, reaching down a little below her shoulder blades, rippled with her laughter. When she finally had the laughter out of her system, she wiped the edge of her eye before opening them, revealing them to be luminous, purple orbs with silted pupils, just like the old woman's he met before the mission.

"So what happened after that?" She asked enthusiastically of the male in the room as she folded her hands neatly on her lap that was enfolded by a pair of light blue slacks, matching her T-shirt.

"Unfortunately for him, Hojo didn't expect that much of a release of power from me and he ended up getting slammed against the wall behind him and got knocked out!" His normally dead-serious friend had trouble keeping his giggles in at the last part and finally burst into uproarious laughter, along with his female companion, as he ended the story.

Once her mirth ceased, she swung her legs onto the floor and stood up. "As much as I hate it, I suppose I have to leave now." She turned to the door and narrowed her eyes at Zack who, in his haste to get away from the door, had made it open even further and grinned innocently from his position, sprawled out on the hallway floor where he had slipped in his urgency. "Looks like we have a little spy here."

Sephiroth's face, which still held happiness from the conversation minutes before, immediately turned stone-cold as he beheld the eavesdropper. "Zack, what do you think you're doing?" He asked in a malicious tone.

He let out a nervous chuckle as he shivered slightly. "J-just passing by, t-that's all."

The silver-haired man let out a cruel, barking laugh. "Hmph. I highly doubt that's the truth. Looks like we'll just have to wring it out of you." He said viciously while approaching him and cracking his knuckles.

The woman swung out an arm in front of him, halting his progress. "Now, now. There are other ways to get the truth other than violence."

Zack watched as her amethyst orbs stared straight into his azure ones and he felt a sharp pain in his mind. She then looked over at Sephiroth and he nodded knowingly after a few seconds.

She then walked over to him and picked him up by his collar with all the strength of Sephiroth before heading off to a different part of the tower, him protesting all the way.

She finally threw him down face-first in front of a bewildered Angeal and Genesis before going back to the last First-Class SOLDIER's room.

"Wow, the puppy's first girlfriend and she's already got him whipped." Commented a near-cackling Genesis.

Angeal, on the other hand, simply groaned and covered his face with a hand before demanding, "Explanation, now."

Zack propped himself up on his elbow while rubbing his smashed face with his other hand. "I honestly have no idea myself. I found her and Sephiroth talking in his room and, as you can clearly tell, they found me." He watched the red-head fall out of his chair while laughing uncontrollably and muttering words to himself which only made his laughter grow louder.

The more mature SOLDIER looked at his childhood friend and sighed. "Allow me to translate. He's saying he never thought Sir Serious would ever loosen up and get himself a date."

He just stared at Genesis weirdly. "You can understand him?"

Angeal just shrugged. "You learn his language after a few years."

"So, how long is he going to do this?"

He shrugged again. "Until he stops or passes out from oxygen deprivation, whichever comes first." He got up and grabbed the red-head, who was now gasping for breath, by the collar. "Shall we go meet this mystery woman who has wormed herself into the general's heart?"

Zack merely shook his head as he laughed while following him. "You've been listening to Genesis's gibberish for too long."

* * *

*Highlights Hojo in Microsoft Word because it says it's mispelled* First alternative, Hobo. *Dies laughing*


	6. The Truth

*Sniffles and sneezes out half of body's mucus content* Having a virus sucks. *Stares at PSP* Stop tempting me, Dissidia!

* * *

Zack continued following Angeal, now carrying Genesis, who was still letting out the occasional chuckle, over his shoulder to help him regain his breath, through the metallic hallways and corridors of Shinra tower, their boots resounding on the floor with each footfall. The spiky-headed warrior looked around as he walked, thinking of most of these dull, leaden surroundings as his home since he arrived here to join SOLDIER, except for the pristine whiteness of the labs where the probably clinically-insane scientists too blinded by their theories and egos to tell what they were doing was not humane worked, of course.

He then sighed fondly as his thoughts wandered to his previous home and his birthplace, the town in the middle of nowhere, Gongaga. There was really nothing memorable out there except for the mako reactor Shinra had built a while before he left. No one ever really came there apart from weary travelers and scientists checking on the progress of the reactor. The already-small population of the mountain village dwindled even further when there was an explosion at the reactor, one day.

Zack smiled and tilted his head back as he thought of his first meeting with an infantryman from a similar place. Whether it was the cadet's bright azure, eager-to-learn eyes or his golden locks that defied gravity just as his superior's did that made him stand out, he wasn't sure of. After a few minutes conversing on a mission in Modeoheim(the blonde's shyness to people ranked above him didn't help the conversation at all)Zack managed to wring out of the trooper, who identified himself as Cloud Strife, that he was from a town called Nibelheim, which was about as large as his own hometown. The talk playfully continued with them saying their respective towns were in the middle of nowhere and calling each other 'country bumpkins'. After the mission was over and he told Angeal and Genesis about the young teen, they gave him the affectionate name 'Chocobo' due to his hair. Sephiroth, on the other hand, merely asked about his combat abilities and had commented, "Bah, the boy is just cannon fodder." When he found out Cloud was among the worst in all of his physical classes.

A soft, cooing sound snapped Zack out of his thoughts, one an infant or child might make when receiving affection from its parent. He looked over at his mentor and saw that he had his head tilted curiously at Sephiroth's almost-closed door and even Genesis had fallen silent. The female's voice drifted from the room in a singing language that none of them could make out, but it sounded oddly familiar to them, as though their bodies knew it, but their mind did not.

Zack approached the door and, as quietly as he could, pushed it open with his knuckles. The sight he was met with was one of the oddest yet.

The silver-haired female had her back turned toward the door and was stroking and caressing Sephiroth's face lovingly like a mother would to a troubled child. The strange language, sounding more like the inner workings of the cosmos rather than words, continued flowing from her pale lips with every gentle touch she bestowed upon him. The normally at-attention all the time general seemed to bask in her attention. Luckily for Zack, his eyelids had drooped out of happiness, hiding his orbs from the second unwanted interruption. His tongue, seemingly the only thing on him that could pass as human, lolled out of his mouth like a happy dog and he looked relaxed to the point of seeming drunk.

When she reached towards his hair to stroke it, Zack heard an interrupting sound behind him, Genesis clearing his throat. "All of my blood is starting to rush to my head, so I would appreciate it if you would kindly put me down." He heard him comment dryly before he whipped his head back to drill a hole into his body with a gaze that read, 'Do you know what the hell you've just done?!' and noticed Angeal doing the same before letting him go, leaving him to drop face-first onto the hard floor.

Unfortunately for them, their antics did not go unbeknownst to the silver-haired general and his companion as he had immediately snapped out of his trance-like state of pleasure at Genesis clearing his throat and she had turned around with her features turned cross. He pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a deep sigh. "I would have thought after getting kicked out the first time, you would have learned your lesson on eavesdropping, but, I suppose, just like the puppy you are, you must be taught a lesson multiple times for it to sink in. Looks like you are trying to corrupt the other SOLDIERs into following your ways as well, except Genesis, he's already corrupted."

The red-head pushed himself up onto his elbows and grinned playfully at his friend. "Corrupted and proud of it!" He chirped lightly, a slight bruise starting to form on his face from it smashing into the metallic floor.

Sephiroth merely sighed again and shook his head. "How did I know you were going to say something weird like that?"

Angeal clamped his hand over his friend's mouth to keep him from saying anything else that might provoke him. "We are simply here to find out who our new friend is here and then we will leave you two to go back to…whatever you were doing."

"You mean each other!" Genesis whooped through the fleshy barrier covering his mouth, the hand offering little resistance to the lewd words.

Sephiroth sighed yet again and got up at the foul, yet apologetic look in Angeal's eyes. "Hang on. I've got some in here somewhere." After looking through a few drawers, he pulled out a roll of duct tape from his nightstand. He walked over to Angeal and easily ripped off a piece that was a few inches long before sticking it on Genesis's lips, which the black-haired SOLDIER's hand had just vacated, moving instead to grip his wrists. He watched the red-head struggle for a few seconds before what seemed to be pouting and looked down at the floor like a naughty child that had got caught. He lightly walked back to his bed and replaced the tape before seating himself on the giant cushion.

"Anyway, this is Evalia and we were not 'doing each other' when you three so rudely interrupted us." He said in a scalding tone. "She was merely singing me a song to relieve stress."

Zack ignored Genesis's lips moving under the tape, no doubt trying to release another comment, and instead focused on the woman known as Evalia. "I saw an old woman that looks like you. Kinda weird in the head. You know about her?"

The now-identified female tapped her chin while looking around for a few seconds before snapping her fingers together. "Ah! You must mean my crazy, old grandmother. She has a tendency to wander around and mutter weird things. She hasn't had much social interaction, makes some people a little cuckoo."

"So, how did you two meet?" Angeal asked while leaning against a wall with his arms crossed against his chest, but still keeping an eye on his troublemaker friend.

"It's not like we're boyfriend and girlfriend." Sephiroth hurriedly said, a slight blush rising on his cheeks. "But if you must know, she was looking around in the lobby and I just thought she looked familiar."

"Well, she does look like a female version of you except for her eyes." Zack commented before grabbing Genesis. "I guess we'll be leaving you two now."

Sephiroth watched Zack drag away Genesis and Angeal wave goodbye before following his pupil. He then got up and slammed the door shut. "I should really get into the habit of locking that thing." He growled.


	7. Punishment For Genesis

Still slightly sick and bored to death, lucky you guys.

* * *

The duo continued on, their captive that Zack was still carrying protesting unheard words, probably muffled verses from his own personal bible, LOVELESS. Angeal occasionally had to give the red-head a chastising slap to the back of the head if he became too loud or rebellious. "So, where are we going with him?" Zack eventually asked of his mentor once they were a ways from Sephiroth's room.

"To my room first," Angeal replied before a slightly evil grin spread across his face, thinking of a fitting punishment for his trouble-making friend, "then it's a surprise."

Zack merely tilted his head at the uncharacteristic look on the older SOLDIER's face as Genesis widened his sapphire eyes and shivered slightly at his friend's words came to him, his overactive imagination caused by the many books he read throughout his life not helping to calm his nerves from the thought of the punishment he will face. Years of living in a metal prison crawling with mad scientists and vicious executives have led to no shortage of tortures and pranks to brew in the residents' minds, including the most serious ones. Even Sephiroth pulled a few pranks in his younger years. A light smile turned up Genesis's unseen mouth as he fondly remembered a time when he and Angeal visited Sephiroth here as children and he had stolen Professor Hojo's, or as they secretly called him, Hobo, only pair of glasses right off his nightstand while he was taking a nap and had hidden them in a secret compartment in the tower, leaving him to stumble around the building like a bat with broken sonar, some workers even managed to video tape him on their phones. Hojo never did find them and had to have a completely new pair made for him. Unfortunately, he now has spare pairs hidden within his room, as they had found out after trying it a second time.

Eventually, they arrived at Angeal's room and he inputted the code for his door, which was much shorter than the slightly paranoid general's. "Wait here and make sure he doesn't escape." He told his pupil before disappearing into his room.

Zack kept his cheery composure only until Angeal walked through his door before turning his anger on Genesis. "Great." He growled, landing an unrestrained kick to his hip. "Now he'll probably work me until I fall flat on my face next time he has me for training thanks to you blowing my cover." He only heard a muffled response from the red-head which sounded suspiciously like 'And you certainly deserve it.'

After a few more moments of him releasing his pent-up anger in short bursts on his captive, Angeal returned without him immediately noticing. "Now, now. We want him to look nice for what I have in store for him." He scolded softly as he unrolled a length of rope used to control rowdy chocobos.

The younger man raised a raven-colored eyebrow at the item in his hands. "Ride him around the tower like a rouge chocobo?" He queried as he crossed his arms across his chest.

He let out a deep chuckle as he shook his head. "Certainly a good idea, but you're not even close." He brought out a pocket knife and cut the rope in half before bounding Genesis's ankles and wrists with each piece, said person struggling with every step. He then picked up the unfortunate SOLDIER and headed off to yet another part of the tower with Zack trailing along behind him.

"You haven't told me where we're going yet." The spiky-haired warrior said, sounding slightly peeved and impatient.

"Trust me, you'll like it." Angeal replied, the evil grin on his face again. He eventually dropped Genesis in front of another door; one Zack didn't know what secrets it held behind the sheet of sliding metal. He then took a pad of sticky notes out of his pocket along with a pen before scribbling something down on it and sticking it on the red-head's forehead, careful not to stick it on his hair. Once he straightened up and moved out of the way, Zack could see that it read, "Send pictures!"

He tilted his head at the cryptic message, but received no answer as his mentor knocked on the door before grabbing his arm and running away with Zack. "A ding-dong ditch?" He asked of him once they finally stopped.

Angeal didn't answer as he had his hand cupped over an ear with a playful grin on his face. Both of them were soon greeted with the sound of several girls' excited squealing and Genesis's still-muffled scream of terror before they heard a door slam shut. "Nope, fangirls. That is the location of Genesis's fanclub, mostly fanatic members of the opposite sex, as is all of the First-Class SOLDIERs'. Sephiroth and I discussed giving them a certain, red-headed 'present' if he continued to act up. Poor guy is probably getting eaten alive as we speak."

Zack clutched his stomach as he bent over, laughing to death. "I-I thought you were the least cruel one among us! Apparently I thought wrong! Remind me not to get on your bad side!" He howled while cackling wickedly.

Angeal started laughing, himself. "True, true. Come, let's wait and see how long they keep him."

* * *

A few hours later, Angeal and Zack were in the middle of a game of checkers in the First-Class break room and even Sephiroth and his new friend had forsaken the privacy of his room due to boredom when Genesis finally hobbled in the room. Their heads immediately turned towards the worn-out trouble maker. His body was covered in lipstick stains, his crimson hair was messy and ruffled, his trenchcoat was slightly askew and torn in some places, and the shirt normally underneath was missing completely.

"So, how was it?" Zack barely managed to get out, trying to contain his laughter with the occasional snicker escaping from his lips.

"I. Hate. You." He growled in response while pouring himself a cup of coffee, sugar-free due to Sephiroth's issues with the substance.

"Ah, come on. It couldn't have been that bad, Dumbapplehead." Sephiroth teased with Evalia burying her face in his chest to muffle her laughter.

"Shut. Up." Genesis spat out before taking a sip from his beverage while pulling out his phone to check the time. He immediately turned his head and spat out a deep brown stream of coffee once he flipped open his cell. "W-what the hell?!" He choked out after he stopped sputtering.

The energetic Zack sprang from his seat and rushed to his side, finally letting his laughter be free once he saw the phone's screen. "Hey, Angeal! Looks like they got our note!" He whooped as he turned the phone towards the rest of the group, revealing a picture of several girls covering Genesis in kisses with a horrified expression on his face with several other pages no doubt filled with similar pictures, earning uncontrollable laughter from them while Genesis tried futilely to retrieve his phone.


	8. The Midgar Zolom

It had been a few weeks since the fangirl incident with Genesis and he still had not forgiven his pranksters. Whenever Sephiroth, Angeal, Zack, or Evalia attempted to talk to him, he spoke in Loveless quotes if he even responded to them at all. Most of the group found it annoying, though Evalia thought it was cute like a stubborn child that did not have his way. After they found it too annoying to stand, they began to think of ways to amend their relationship with Genesis.

"Why did we come out here again?" Sephiroth asked from his perch on a tree branch a little ways outside Midgar.

"Three reasons." Zack answered as he glanced at the general sitting by Evalia. "One: Angeal wants to examine the plants around this area. Two: We sent Genesis with him to see if Angeal can talk some sense into him. Three: I needed to train the cadets about how to forage anyway." He worriedly looked at the various paths the cadets had taken through the brush after he informed them of their mission when he said the last sentence.

"Relax." Sephiroth said. "They will be fine. I had no problem with foraging and I was younger than they are."

"Just because you did it fine doesn't mean they will! You're stronger than anyone I know." Zack responded, worried most about a cadet in particular. The little blonde cadet known as Cloud was weaker than others in his age group, thus making him a prime target for any monsters that may decide to attack the group he went off into the brush with.

"You're worried about that little chocobohead, aren't you?" Evalia finally spoke up.

He widened his eyes. "H-how did you know?"

She crossed her arms as she pouted. "I would have thought that you knew I was different from most people. It is hard to hide things from me."

"Well, yeah." Zack replied as he sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "But how did you find out?"

"Your eyes stay on him slightly longer than the other cadets when you look over them. Also, you spend more time with him than the rest. Even a normal person could probably figure it out."

"I am worried about him more than the others." He admitted. "He's weaker than the rest. Also, don't you remember what the guy at the chocobo ranch told us when we passed by?"

"Yes." Sephiroth interjected. "He said there was a powerful monster living near here, the Midgar Zolom I believe he called it. He said the Zolom would not eat chocobos, but Shinra being the cheapskates they are, did not give us gil for this mission since they were confident in our abilities, so we could not rent any chocobos."

Zack rolled his eyes. "Of course. Remind me to have Reno prank whoever manages the finances once we get back."

Suddenly, Sephiroth snapped his head up as he sniffed the air. His cat-like pupils dilated like a monster that saw its prey before he leaped from the tree and landed with inhuman grace on all fours.

Zack noticed the change in his friend and raced over to him. "C'mon Seph, snap out of it." He told him as he lightly shook his shoulders. He was immediately shaken off by the snarling general before he bounded off through the brush on all fours. "Geez." He said as he sat up from where Sephiroth had knocked him onto the ground. "Do you have any idea what's up with him?" He asked Evalia as he turned his head to where she still sat on the tree.

"I have an idea of why he did that." She told him before she hopped off the tree, landing on her feet.

Before he could ask what it was, he heard rustling in the direction Sephiroth took. He turned his head towards the noise and saw Angeal and Genesis pushing their way through the vegetation.

"Please tell me that silver and black blur that nearly ran us over wasn't who we think it was." Genesis said while taking leaves out of his hair.

"I'm afraid so." Zack replied while standing up. "We should probably go after him." He followed after Angeal and Genesis who were going back the way they came as Evalia trailed after him.

The eventually found him at the edge of a large marsh drenched in blood near a large carcass. Most of the ground and scenery around him was splattered with blood. Zack widened his eyes when he realized what the corpse used to belong to, the dreaded Midgar Zolom. Looking at the bruises, scrapes, and the flesh ripped from the body, it seemed as though Sephiroth did not even use his sword against the beast. "Leave it to Sephiroth to use nothing to kill a giant snake but the mountains around him." He muttered.

"Hey, Puppy," Angeal whispered softly to grab his attention while slowly edging around the general, "isn't that one of your cadets?" He asked as he pointed to Sephiroth's lap.

Zack followed him carefully and tensed as he saw Cloud being clutched tightly to the silver-haired man while he was focused on hungrily lapping up blood from a wound on the blonde's arm.

"Zack, help me." Cloud mouthed to his friend.

He waved his hand in front of Sephiroth and tilted his head as the general did not even react. He then tried to pull Cloud away from him, but was met by a snarl and him pulling the cadet closer to him. Zack retreated back to Angeal. "What should we do about him? If we don't get Cloud away from him soon, he'll die from blood loss."

At that moment, Evalia finally caught up to the SOLDIERs and walked over to Sephiroth. She pried him away from the blonde, the silver-haired man allowing her to, and whispered into his ear.

Zack took his chance to get Cloud after he was free and gave the younger man a potion. "Are you alright?"

The blonde gently rubbed his arm where the scratch was. "Y-yeah. I'm a little tired, but I'll be fine."

The black-haired man looked around after he tended to his friend. "Where's the rest of your squad at?"

Cloud lowered his head. "Well, we weren't sure where we were going, so we thought we would find a town by going through the marsh. Once the Zolom found us, the rest of my squad abandoned me to die."

Zack ruffled his hair playfully. "I'll tell Shinra when we get back and maybe Hojo will have some new test subjects." He helped him up and noticed Sephiroth seemed to have returned to normal. "Well, now that everything has seemed to have returned to normal, we should go back to camp and see if any of the other squads made it back yet." He led Cloud back to the camp with Genesis and Angeal following.

Evalia watched the soldiers go back into the brush. "Remember, do not kill anyone you are not ordered to kill until it is time."

"But how much longer will I have to wait?" Sephiroth inquired.

"The time will come very soon." She said while stroking his cheek. "Now, let us follow them before they get suspicious."


	9. Snapping and Snarling

Sorry for the long wait everyone. I lost my wanting to write for a while and the classes I'm taking right now in school aren't helping with my schedule.

* * *

A couple of weeks went by and again no sign of the Silver General had been shown after he returned to the tower. Zack assumed that everything had returned back to normal, so he thought it would be the perfect opportunity to show his friends his girlfriend, Aerith.

"C'mon Aerith." He whined like the puppy he was as he dragged the flower girl to Shinra Tower. "Angeal is definitely going to like you. Though," He realized, tapping his chin with one finger, "Genesis will probably tease me for it and I don't think Sephiroth really cares."

"Zack," The brunette started as she yanked away from his momentarily-loosened grip, "Before we go in here, I have to tell you something."

The black-haired SOLDIER's eyes softened and he pulled her closer slightly. "Of course Aerith. You should know you can tell me anything."

She fidgeted with her hair as her eyes lowered to the ground. "Well… this place has some really bad memories for me. You see, when I was really little, Shinra came to my house at Icicle Inn. They…" Her eyes watered as she thought of the painful memories. "shot my father and took me and my mother back here. They treated us horribly. They would run experiments on us almost daily, but I do remember them easing up a bit on us later. The scientist that was around us most often said it was at the request of a child that was very important to the company."

"Wow…" Zack mumbled, ruffling his hair with a hand. "I never thought they would do something like that… How on Gaia did you get out of there?"

"The same scientist who told us why they decreased the amount of experimentation they performed on us just 'accidentally' left the door to our room unlocked one day. We managed to sneak most of the way through the tower, but…" Her eyes saddened. "some troopers found us and we just ran for our lives. I thought we got out of there okay, but my mother collapsed after we lost the soldiers at the train station. With her last breaths, she gave me this materia that I put in the ribbon you gave me." She said as she pointed at it. "After she died, this nice lady called Elmyra found me and raised me from there."

"Well," Zack started lamely as he awkwardly rubbed at the back of his head. "I can understand why you wouldn't want to come back here. But," He said with a mischievous grin on his face. "Shinra's really easy to fool and hide things from. Heck, I've been hiding tons of things from Seph and Geal, like that stash of fireworks I have saved for the tower for a special occasion. Oh…" He groaned as he hid his face in his hands. "please do not tell them that. They'll make me work my tail off if they find out about that."

Aerith smiled and hugged him. "Alright, if you can sneak me in, then I won't tell them about your secret stash."

"Wait a sec, how are you going to tell them if you can't go in the tower?" He asked in a perplexed voice.

"I've been in contact with this Turk who keeps wanting me to come back to the tower. Other than that, he's really nice and I think he'll appreciate the news that a SOLDIER is hiding things from his superiors." She poked his nose playfully as she said the last part.

He pouted like a little kid in return. "You know, you can be cruel at times." He said as he grabbed her by the hand and led her into the tower.

* * *

They managed to make it through the tower without being seen, mostly due to the secret passages that Zack dedicated himself to find after Sephiroth's sleeping episode. Zack eventually found Sephiroth and Angeal relaxing after a mission in the First-class SOLDIER lounge, thankfully without Genesis.

"Hey guys!" Zack said excitedly to them while standing in front of Aerith, covering her from their sight. "I have someone I want to show you!"

Sephiroth let out a grunt of annoyance while cradling a mug of coffee in his hands. "Not in the mood to see your newest cadet toy right now." He mumbled tiredly, stress of the multiple missions he had been on in a short amount of time making his mood even more sour than it normally is.

Angeal let out a soft chuckle at his friend's grumpier than usual mood. "Come on Seph. Let's at least have a look at this person the Puppy seems so fond of."

The silver-haired man let out a soft growl at the nickname that would annoy him even in his best of moods. "Fine." He snapped at him.

Zack grinned at Angeal immediately accepting to see and Sephiroth giving his acceptance in his own way before stepping aside and gently pushing Aerith towards them, his girlfriend giving a little resistance at being moved closer to them. "Sephiroth, Angeal, this is my girlfriend Aerith. She's really nice and she grows flowers in this church in the slums." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Which I kinda broke the roof of."

His mentor chuckled again. "Well, I suppose that's alright if you didn't hurt her in the process and promised to pay for the repairs." He turned to his childhood friend. "So, Sephiroth, what do you think of this girl that the Puppy dragged in?"

Sephiroth did not answer his question as he studied Aerith closely. After a few moments of staring at her with a look of déjà vu in his eyes, he stood up and walked over to her before looking closer at her face. "Hm…" He hummed softly as he thought to himself. "I could have sworn I have seen you somewhere before, but I cannot remember where."

He did not have much time to ponder on the subject, however, as Evalia entered the room and froze in her place. Her lips curled up, showing her teeth as a soft, but menacing growl escaped from her mouth. All the inhabitants of the room other than her and Sephiroth shivered when the temperature dropped by a few degrees as the glare she placed on the brunette girl increased in intensity. "What. Is. She. Doing. Here?" She asked in a barely restrained, vehement voice as she seethed with anger.

Zack gulped audibly and his voice trembled lightly as he saw a connection between Evalia's anger and the drop in temperature. "Ah…this is my girlfriend, Aerith, and-"

"I don't care!" She snapped at him as Aerith retreated behind Zack, hugging him tightly as though he was her lifeline. "Get her out of here before I kill her myself." She said in a softer tone, but with the same anger and menace bubbling in her voice as before. "I have killed before, and have no qualms about doing so again, especially when it comes to her." She then exited the room the way she came, slamming the door behind her, leaving the occupants of the room looking at where she was in shock and disbelief.

"Wow…" Zack said quietly as he tightly hugged Aerith, tears beginning to gather at the edges of her eyes. "She seems so calm normally. I didn't think she would explode like that. Hey Seph," He called to the silver-haired man, forgetting not to use his nickname due to what had just transpired. "Do you know why she did that?"

Said man was staring at the now-closed door where she left with a slightly worried look on his face, though he snapped out of it when he heard that wretched nickname of his being used. "Not quite sure." He shrugged to himself. "She can be a little moody at times, but nothing like that."

Zack shrugged to himself as well before turning around and preparing to lead Aerith back out of the building, an arm wrapped around her gently.

"Oh," Sephiroth said, remembering what he had been discussing with Angeal before Zack came into the lounge. "Before you go, I have a special mission that involves you, Genesis, Angeal, and I." He called after Zack.

He turned his head back to his superior distractedly. "Weird that they would choose all of us to go." He commented to himself. "So, where are we going?"

Sephiroth pulled a folded up sheet of paper he had in his pocket and glanced over it to recall the name of the place they were to be sent to. After he was done, he glanced up at Zack to address him. "Nibelheim."

* * *

Dun dun dun! The next chapter will probably be the last, will be longer than the others, and hopefully I'll get it done faster than this one. As a bonus, here's some funny alt text for the end:

Sephiroth: "Nibelheim."

Cloud: *Runs past all of them while screaming about how it's the end of the world*

Sephiroth: "What the hell was that about?"


	10. Nibelheim

Yay, a chapter not months into the making! Told ya guys it would be done quicker and longer than the others. It also contains the horror and supernatural genre that I was neglecting in the earlier chapters. Enjoy!

* * *

The time until the mission passed like a blur for Zack and he soon found himself in the back of a military truck with several infantrymen, Genesis, Angeal, Sephiroth, and Evalia, whom the silver-haired man persuaded Shinra to be able to bring with them, possibly involving threats of dismemberment in the persuasion. Angeal and Sephiroth where sitting quietly in two separate corners of the truck. Sephiroth's corner was so dark that he could only see his face, looking very much annoyed due to Genesis trying to engage him in conversation about Loveless, when the area above the canvas of the truck was bathed in full sunlight. Evalia spent the trip like the two in the corners, but she glared in Zack's direction a few times, most likely still peeved about him bringing his girlfriend to the tower.

He headed over to one of the infantrymen who had his head buried in his hands and whole body tensed up. "Hey Cloud," He began, placing a hand on the younger man's shoulder, "you alright?"

The cadet lifted his head to look up at him, but immediately lowered it back down with a groan as it made his already horrible car sickness become worse. "No. Feel horrible." He mumbled softly.

He patted him on his back, moving the top half of his body forward each time due to the force he used. "Aw, you'll be fine, you little chocobo." Before the blond could object to the nickname, Zack had already walked away from him and began to do squats away from both Sephiroth and Evalia, which both looked like they may start murdering people at any moment.

* * *

Zack noticed that Sephiroth had been getting more and more agitated and aggravated the closer they got to Nibelheim, even getting up to pace in the small amount of space he had in the truck when they got close to the outskirts. He just chalked it up to Genesis' continued drawling on about Loveless. His anxiety reached a peak so far when they parked just a bit outside the village, so much so that he hopped out of the truck before the car-sick Cloud, who was eagerly scrambling out of the back as fast as he could. Zack and Evalia exited after them, then Angeal, and finally Genesis. Zack watched as Sephiroth glanced around the village before seeming to relax momentarily as he shrugged to himself.

"Hey Sephiroth," He said in a worried tone, coming up behind him. "You okay?"

The silver-haired man shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Hm, yes. I just could have sworn I've seen this place before, but I have not been stationed here for a mission in all the time I have been in Shinra."

Zack patted him on the shoulder, or at least as close to his shoulder as he could due to the height difference. "You're probably just confusing it with another town you've been to. I know I would."

Sephiroth shook his head lightly at this, but changed the subject so the annoying puppy would stop making him think about this place. "Come. We're off to the inn to rest up, then off to the mako reactor to investigate these monsters Shinra told us about."

Zack was about to continue asking about the subject that Sephiroth wished to avoid, clearly not taking the clue that he did not want to talk about it, but noticed that Cloud still seemed queasy and figured it would be good to give the younger man some time to rest. He shrugged and followed Sephiroth off to the inn with the rest of their party trailing behind.  
After resting for the night, they headed off to the reactor with a guide whose name was Tifa. Upon meeting her, Sephiroth gave her a disapproving look due to the skimpy outfit she had on. The whole outfit was cowboy-themed with a short skirt that appeared to barely cover her legs just enough to be out in public in, a sleeveless brown vest over a white button-up shirt, neither of which covered her midriff, and a cowboy hat completed her ensemble. Zack noticed Cloud seemed a little skittish around her throughout the trip and shrugged to himself, thinking it was just due to him not seeing many women dressed like that before.

* * *

They soon arrived at the reactor and after looking around the perimeter warily for any monsters, went inside, Sephiroth ordering Cloud to make sure Tifa did not enter due to Shinra's secrets possibly being revealed. After entering the main room in the reactor which contained pods around the size of a human, they fanned out around the room, searching for anything that may have produced the monsters in the dim crimson light supplied by overhead lighting.

Zack climbed the staircase in the middle of the room and examined the door on the far side. "Hey Sephiroth," He called out to the silver-haired man, "this door says Jenova. Do you think it might have something to do with the monsters?" Before he could answer, he tried to pry it open, but without success. "Well, whatever it means, the door's not budging."  
Sephiroth jerked his head up from examining one of the pods when he heard the name Zack mentioned. "Jenova..." He trailed off in thought as he walked up to where the spiky-haired man was. "Could it be?"

"Hm? What's up Seph?" Angeal asked from where he was inspecting a rust-colored pipe.

"Jenova is, I mean was, my mother's name." He said as he stared at the letters forming his mother's name placed above the thick steel door.

"Was?" Zack inquired as he turned his head to him. "What happened to her?"

"She died after she gave birth to me; at least that's what the scientists told me." He muttered softly as he placed a hand on the door.

Evalia came up behind the two of them and placed her hand on Sephiroth's shoulder comfortingly. "Allow me to try." After a nod from him before he moved out of the way along with Zack, she placed both of her hands on the door. Suddenly, she plunged her hands into the metal on the sides of the door before ripping it straight from the wall and throwing it across the room, nearly hitting Genesis with the hunk of metal in the process. She ignored him yelling at her as she entered the now-open door with Sephiroth trailing close behind her like a child and Zack warily following a few feet behind them. Angeal went in after Zack and after checking he had no wounds from getting a giant piece of metal thrown at him, Genesis walked in last.

Zack stayed back in the doorway with Genesis and Angeal while Evalia walked across a thick red wire up to what appeared to be a metal statue as Sephiroth still followed behind her. Despite being worried about how odd those two have acted throughout this mission, he kept his distance from them since his instinct was sending him warning signals, though something else in him was telling him to follow them.

Evalia approached the statue and examined it. Her lips curled up into a snarl as she looked at it before grabbing it and violently ripping it straight from the many wires holding it in place. She tossed it into the pit beside the wire she was on and straightened back up before smiling at the sight before her. In front of her was a tube filled with a blue liquid with an alien figure floating inside it. The body, obviously female due to it being completely nude, had skin the same color as the fluid around it, silver hair going down to its shoulder blades, a single glowing purple eye with the other one being hidden by the hair, and a metal plate bolted into its forehead that read 'Jenova'.

She closed her eyes and her body fell to a side to land on a metal ring around the tube.

Sephiroth hurriedly dashed to her side and knelt beside her to see what happened to her. As he was examining her, he noticed movement in the top of his vision. He saw the alien figure moving now, trying to break the glass of the tube around it, and sighed. "Now, now." He said despite it not being able to hear him through the glass as he stood up. "You're going to hurt yourself. Just let me open this thing for you." He strolled over to the control panel attached to the tube and pressed a few buttons on it. After a last button press, the glass making up the tube lowered into the floor, making the liquid it once contained spill everywhere.

The alien being known as Jenova stood up gingerly. She coughed up any liquid that remained in her lungs as she flexed her hands and feet. "Hmm." She hummed to herself as she continued running a self-examination of her body. "It has been quite a while since I have been back in this body. I've almost forgotten what it was like." She said in a slightly raspy, but flowing and somewhat ethereal, voice due to disuse. "Though I must say," She glanced down at the body laying on the floor. "That last host was quite resilient. She even held out past the hair and eye color change."

Sephiroth chuckled lightly as though hearing a joke. "Glad to have your own body back, Mother?" He asked her like a child tending to its wounded parent.

"Yes." She replied. "I did not enjoy leaving it so it could regain its power, but it was necessary nonetheless. Though," She began, pulling a tube out of her head and looking at it in disgust before closing the wound where it was with healing magic. "I do not appreciate what the humans have done with my body in my absence."

"Don't worry, Mother. We'll make them pay for what they've done." He said as he wrapped his arms around her tightly.

She smiled down at him and patted his back. "Yes we will, as soon as I recover from what they did to me and remember how to use my powers again." She moved her hands up to grab the bolts keeping the metal plate on her head and slowly began to unscrew them, wincing at the pain it caused, but not stopping either. She let out a sigh of relief as they finally came out before throwing them and the metal plate away from her and healing her skull and flesh.

Zack was watching this as though it showed that the whole world had gone insane. "Um.. Hey, Angeal," He whispered to his mentor to avoid drawing the attention of the two people on the far side of the room. "I think Sephiroth has finally lost it."

"Indeed." The older man agreed with him. "He released what appears to be an alien, is treating it like his mother, _hugged_ it, and is now talking about destroying all of humanity with it. He has lost all sense of honor and sanity as far as I can tell."

"Oh you and your honor." Genesis whined softly. "Nevermind the fact that he wants to kill everyone, probably starting with us first, but heaven forbid if he does something dishonorable."  
Zack held his mentor back from starting a fight with the redhead then and there. "As much as I hate to admit it, Genesis is somewhat right. Sephiroth is talking about destroying humanity, which we are a part of. We have to take him down now if we don't want to die here."

Genesis nodded and Angeal reluctantly did so too after a few moments before all three of them drew their swords and began approaching the two other people quietly.

Jenova was focused on testing out her powers by levitating a loose piece of metal with her magic while Sephiroth watched her like a wide-eyed child. She looked up, dropping the metal in the process, when she heard footsteps approaching them. "Ah, I forgot about you all." She said as she scanned the three armed warriors in front of them. "Too bad I have to kill you all, seeing as how you've grown on me from the times I was with you." She tapped her chin with a finger. "Tell you what, I'll spare you all if you join my side."

"Nonsense." Angeal barked at her. "Joining you to kill friends, relatives, everything, is utterly preposterous and completely against my code of honor." He raised his Buster Sword in defiance. "And I shall use my honor to destroy you, you honorless beast!"

"Do you really think we're that naive?" Genesis asked, leveling his rapier at her head. "I've heard of many villains that pulled that trick right before the protagonist ended up dead. I refuse to be a mere cliche from a book!"

"Killing everyone on the planet...including Aerith...that's what monsters do." Zack said, clutching his chest as he talked. "And it is SOLDIER's job to rid the world of monsters like you!" He yelled as he pointed his sword at the two of them.

Jenova merely laughed at this last stand from the three of them. "Child, come here." She said to Sephiroth. When he obeyed, she placed her hands on his cheeks. "Here is a taste of my power for my chosen son." She whispered gently before she transferred some of her power to him.

He nearly fell to his knees due to the foreign feeling of the massive power flowing into his body. He scrunched his eyes shut as he felt bones in his back reforming to create more places for the power to settle down in evenly. He bit his tongue to keep himself from crying out in pain from a bone ripping through his skin. It was over as soon as it began, though, and when it was done, he felt off balance as he could feel new additions to his back. He opened his eyes and looked back to see a raven-colored angelic wing jutting out from his shoulder blade as well as several tentacles the same color as Jenova's skin coming out of the flesh on either side of his spinal cord. He smirked at his new appendages before drawing Masamune. "I will not let you down, Mother." He vowed.

"Do not kill them." She ordered. "Just hold them off until I get the hang of my powers again."

He nodded then turns his cat-like eyes to the ones who pose as a troublesome threat to him. "You pathetic traitors will pay for standing against Mother." He said menacingly before moving his sword back and slashing at them, creating a blue shock wave from it that headed right towards them.

Genesis and Angeal were used to it due to the time they spent fighting him in the past and hopped out of the way in time. Zack, meanwhile, had to block it due to not being used to giant glowing waves of energy being sent at him.

They landed back beside him when the wave had passed and Angeal glanced up at his former friend. "Sephiroth, come to your senses!" He yelled at him. "We have been your friends since those visits to Shinra when we were little and you're willing to throw all that away for this _thing_?"

The silver-haired man let out a loud snarl at the label he gave his mother. "She gave you the chance to join us, yet you refused. That is not my problem."

"Hey guys," Zack said, switching his view as he talked to Genesis and Angeal who were on either side of him. "What are we going to do? You two can't take him on by yourselves, we don't know how strong this alien is, and I'm not sure of how much help I'll be here."

"We fight, that's what we're going to do." Angeal said determinedly. "My honor will not allow me to just allow them to do what they want." He turned his head to Genesis as he heard a derisive snort come from the redhead. "Fighting for something other than honor, are we?"

"I am fighting for my Goddess, of course." His comrade replied as he took a few glowing orbs from a pocket and tossed an ice materia to Angeal. "Catch, Puppy." He said before tossing a thunder materia at him and putting a fire one into a slot in his own sword.

Zack put the thunder materia into a slot available on his weapon as Angeal did the same with his ice one. "As for me, I'm fighting for Aerith and all those people that'll die if we don't stop them here."

Sephiroth let out a snort. "I suppose Genesis' flair for the dramatic has leaked out into all of us." He raised his sword with both hands so it was level with his face. "No matter though. Your fates will end up the same regardless." He kicked off the metal ring he was on and slashed at the three of them.

Angeal managed to roll out of the way and Zack held his blade up to block it, but the sword still ended up slicing his cheek.

Genesis, seeing an opening, plunged his sword into Sephiroth's leg, however, he pulled away before it got too deep, so it only made a minor wound.

In return, Sephiroth sliced into the redhead's sword arm, causing him to yelp in pain and drop his sword before beginning to look through his pocket for a potion or cure materia. A second slash by him detached Genesis' pocket of supplies from the rest of his clothing and sent it hurtling into the abyss below them all. A third and final attack had Sephiroth slashing into his stomach, blocked just enough by the victim's arms to prevent any permanent damage from being done, but sent him smashing into a wall, leaving him too badly injured to continue fighting. He managed to pick up his sword with his uninjured arm from where he lay, however, and used the fire materia he had placed in it to send a fireball at Sephiroth's face as he had turned to fight the other two, temporarily blinding him.

While Sephiroth was clutching his face due to the unexpected attack, Angeal used his ice materia to freeze his sword hand and hilt, creating a block of ice that encased the area from his wrist to the end of the hilt.

Zack used the momentary decrease in chance of death to attempt to slash across Sephiroth's chest, but the new tentacles coming from his back appeared to have minds of their own as they wrapped tightly around his arms and refused to release him. He gasped as they tightened their grip enough so he could no longer move his arms no matter how hard he tried.  
As Zack was occupied with the tentacles, his attacker recovered from the fireball and snarled as he ripped the ice away from his skin with his free hand. Sephiroth managed to stab through Angeal's shoulder before he could react, pinning him against a wall. He smirked down at his former friend before punching him in the chest using his new power, feeling the ribs he hit break under his might along with hearing a snapping sound as they broke. He pulled his sword back to his side, allowing Angeal to slump to the floor while gingerly hugging his chest, and licked at the two different kinds of blood that now coated his sword.

Just as he was about to turn his attention to Zack, Jenova caught his attention with a cry of glee.

"I remembered how to do what I wanted!" She cried out joyfully.

He chuckled lightly at his Mother's happiness. "Go ahead and do it."

Zack saw her eagerly nod before an odd sensation filled his body. It felt as though his muscles stopped obeying his brain's electrical impulses to move and instead fell limp in the tentacles' grip. He managed to look over to Genesis and Angeal and noticed they were clutching their heads with their teeth clenched as though in agony. After a few moments, their bodies seemed to relax as neutral looks came across their faces despite their wounds.

"Hm..." Jenova mused to herself. "Zack's harder to control compared to the other two since he doesn't have as many of my cells in him. Though," She continued muttering, a wicked look forming in her eyes. "That's an easy fix." A tentacle identical to Sephiroth's formed from her body and wrapped around most of Zack's body, starting at his stomach with the end forcing itself into his lips.

Zack struggled against the tentacle and tried to move his head to either side to dislodge it, but to no avail. He saw a small stream of liquid moving through the tentacle, right towards his mouth. As his struggles reached a peak, the sickly-sweet liquid filled his mouth and he was forced to swallow it or else choke to death. As the liquid flowed down his throat, his struggles grew weaker and weaker until they eventually stopped altogether, at which point the fluid stopped flowing into him. Sephiroth released him from his grip upon seeing this before he went to tend to his former comrades' wounds.

"Since you refused to join Mother when given the chance, you all will only be allowed control over your bodies when we deem it alright." He said while using a cure materia to treat himself before focusing on Genesis and Angeal. "And because of your bad behaviors, you will be forced to kill others until we feel that your behavior is sufficiently good to be given privileges. Now then," He picked his sword back up from where he had lain it down while he was healing his new comrades. "If you'll excuse me, I must go deal with the other fools who accompanied us on this mission." He cackled softly to himself as he left the room while thinking of what he would do to the girl and cadet they had left outside.

"Rise my new soldiers." Jenova commanded from the metal ring where she sat. She smirked as their bodies made them obey the command due to her cells within them manipulating their bodies, probably with their minds yelling at their muscles to work without response. "All of Shinra's best soldiers, now on my side and not-so eagerly following my every order. First I will take Shinra down with the creatures they produced, then I will hunt down that pathetic Ancient that holds the White Materia in her grasp, finally," She grinned, a glint of an ancient, feral pleasure entering her eyes. "I will make the world and its foolish inhabitants bow down to my will."

* * *

Depending on how many people want a sequel for this, I may consider writing one.


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